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Married Quarters
‘The small room was thick with dark blue uniforms. Bull’s wool the men called the material. Silver buttons. Black boots. Caps. Batons holstered in shiny black leather cylinders. Handcuffs hanging from coat hooks, the keys dangling on thick green ribbon. Dusty files on shelves. Shiny whistles on silver chains. Ink. Nibbed pens. Blotting paper. The big map of the district on the wall and beside it a rainfall chart. The men having broken their “at ease” positions, gathered into the middle of the room. His father seemed lost. Like a man with a herd of cattle he could no longer control.’
An insignificant Irish border village at the tail-end of the 1950s. The Sergeant is nervous. His men are lined up for inspection in the day room of the Garda station. Chief Superintendent ‘The Bully’ Barry is on the warpath and any slip-ups will reflect badly on the Sergeant. But what can he do with the men under his command – all of them forcibly transferred from other more important stations in more important towns? Each garda has his own story, his own problems. How can a man be expected to keep the peace with such a bunch of misfits and ne’er-do-wells?
Observing them with fascination, all but invisible in his own quiet corner, sits the Sergeant’s son. On the cusp of manhood, he is drawn in by these rough and ready men, stuck in this place and time, when all he wants is a chance to leave and start his life anew. Life at home in the station’s married quarters is both comfort and knife-edged, ruled over by his by-the-book father and his gentle, emotional mother.
Taking up where his acclaimed A Border Station left off, Married Quarters is a funny, beautifully observed and deeply personal novel. and marks the return of Shane Connaughton, one of Ireland’s most cherished writers.
An insignificant Irish border village at the tail-end of the 1950s. The Sergeant is nervous. His men are lined up for inspection in the day room of the Garda station. Chief Superintendent ‘The Bully’ Barry is on the warpath and any slip-ups will reflect badly on the Sergeant. But what can he do with the men under his command – all of them forcibly transferred from other more important stations in more important towns? Each garda has his own story, his own problems. How can a man be expected to keep the peace with such a bunch of misfits and ne’er-do-wells?
Observing them with fascination, all but invisible in his own quiet corner, sits the Sergeant’s son. On the cusp of manhood, he is drawn in by these rough and ready men, stuck in this place and time, when all he wants is a chance to leave and start his life anew. Life at home in the station’s married quarters is both comfort and knife-edged, ruled over by his by-the-book father and his gentle, emotional mother.
Taking up where his acclaimed A Border Station left off, Married Quarters is a funny, beautifully observed and deeply personal novel. and marks the return of Shane Connaughton, one of Ireland’s most cherished writers.
- GenresIrish Literature
336 pages, Hardcover
First published January 1, 2017
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Displaying 1 - 7 of 7 reviews
September 23, 2017
Shane Connaughton wrote Married Quarters over 20 years after writing A Border Station, picking up almost where that novel left off. He continues his fictionalized biography with more depth and humor than its predecessor, with more characterization. Whereas earlier there was more focus on the boy's family life, Married Quarters despite its title focuses more on the other members of the garda, some of the material being laugh out loud funny. Connaughton's ear for dialogue is not surprising seeing as he has written several screenplays, most notably, My Left Foot.
Set in the 1950's, it is a nostalgic portrait of Ireland during the troubles, and thanks to the Irish Times for making it their book of the month and calling it to my attention.
Set in the 1950's, it is a nostalgic portrait of Ireland during the troubles, and thanks to the Irish Times for making it their book of the month and calling it to my attention.
September 11, 2018
I was somewhat excited when I received this book from Penguin Ireland. Shane Connaughton wrote the screenplay for My Left Foot, which was shortlisted for an Academy Award; he counts himself as a peer of Irish authors like John Banville and John McGahern; and his novel A Border Station (the prequel to Married Quarters) was very well received.
Married Quarters is set among the lives of a small community in the Irish border village of Butlershill in the mid-1900s. It is mostly told through the eyes of Danny, the Garda Sergeant's son, during a period when he is home from college. As the book moves on, each chapter shifts to focus on a different guard stationed in the town, detailing his connection to Danny, relationship with Danny's family and interactions with other members of the community. Danny is on the precipice of manhood and is fascinated by the rough and ready men in the local Garda station. Each one has his own story and his own problems, but Danny longs to be like them: to become independent of his frustrated, regimental father and gentle mother, and start his life anew.
This book takes up where A Border Station left off, again capturing the essence of small town life in a shifting Irish village. It is funny at times and certainly observed, but it didn't grab my attention or hold it, unfortunately. I had an issue with how women were presented; as mysterious but powerless, confined to house duties, and with bosoms that range from "pointed" to bag of hay-like (thanks for that, Connaughton). The prose is good with the dialogue engaging, but is certainly overly sentimental at times. There was also a reliance on cliches throughout the book, which grated on me.
I was left a little disappointed by Married Quarters. While I wouldn't recommend it in general, fans of Connaughton and, particularly, of A Border Station, might like to have a go.
1.5 to 2 stars.
Thank you to Penguin Ireland for providing me with an advanced copy of this novel in exchange for an honest review.
Married Quarters is set among the lives of a small community in the Irish border village of Butlershill in the mid-1900s. It is mostly told through the eyes of Danny, the Garda Sergeant's son, during a period when he is home from college. As the book moves on, each chapter shifts to focus on a different guard stationed in the town, detailing his connection to Danny, relationship with Danny's family and interactions with other members of the community. Danny is on the precipice of manhood and is fascinated by the rough and ready men in the local Garda station. Each one has his own story and his own problems, but Danny longs to be like them: to become independent of his frustrated, regimental father and gentle mother, and start his life anew.
This book takes up where A Border Station left off, again capturing the essence of small town life in a shifting Irish village. It is funny at times and certainly observed, but it didn't grab my attention or hold it, unfortunately. I had an issue with how women were presented; as mysterious but powerless, confined to house duties, and with bosoms that range from "pointed" to bag of hay-like (thanks for that, Connaughton). The prose is good with the dialogue engaging, but is certainly overly sentimental at times. There was also a reliance on cliches throughout the book, which grated on me.
I was left a little disappointed by Married Quarters. While I wouldn't recommend it in general, fans of Connaughton and, particularly, of A Border Station, might like to have a go.
1.5 to 2 stars.
Thank you to Penguin Ireland for providing me with an advanced copy of this novel in exchange for an honest review.
March 27, 2018
I received this book from Penguin Ireland in exchange for an honest review.
Married Quarters tells of life in a border town during the late 1900s Ireland, and is mostly told through the eyes of Danny - the Sergeant's son - when he is home from college. Each chapter focuses on a different guard stationed in the town, and his relationship with Danny, the Sergeant's family and other people in the village.
This book was written quiet well and parts of it did get my attention (I particularly loved Chisholm who used to just threaten to shoot everyone but was actually harmless) but unfortunately for the most part, this book just wasn't for me. There wasn't a real narrative or plot through the book that really linked the chapters together except that the guards were all in this one town. I liked that the style of the chapters had the point of view from Danny but we hardly ever actually heard his name, and I liked how he seemed to attach himself to each guard over different things and become involved in their life.
I DNF'd this book about 80% through, or a chapter and a half away from the end. It just got very boring for me and I lost all enthusiasm to finish it off. As I said. the writing was in no means bad - it just wasn't the story for me.
Married Quarters tells of life in a border town during the late 1900s Ireland, and is mostly told through the eyes of Danny - the Sergeant's son - when he is home from college. Each chapter focuses on a different guard stationed in the town, and his relationship with Danny, the Sergeant's family and other people in the village.
This book was written quiet well and parts of it did get my attention (I particularly loved Chisholm who used to just threaten to shoot everyone but was actually harmless) but unfortunately for the most part, this book just wasn't for me. There wasn't a real narrative or plot through the book that really linked the chapters together except that the guards were all in this one town. I liked that the style of the chapters had the point of view from Danny but we hardly ever actually heard his name, and I liked how he seemed to attach himself to each guard over different things and become involved in their life.
I DNF'd this book about 80% through, or a chapter and a half away from the end. It just got very boring for me and I lost all enthusiasm to finish it off. As I said. the writing was in no means bad - it just wasn't the story for me.
June 24, 2021
Review on hold pending book group discussion.
May 8, 2017
A fitting headline for the welcome return of Shane Connaughton's account of a boyhood lived in the married quarters of a rural Irish police station in the 1950s. It continues his story from A Border Station. Whatever their style or chosen genre, all great novelists share their blueprint for change. It's what enables stories to focus microscopically and in a twinkling extrapolate to the truths of our universe, our world, ourselves.
Make no mistake, Connaughton is a great writer and this is a book of deep satisfaction. The episodes that plot the social and cultural sweep of the post-war journey to a modern era parallel the development of a boy to a young man at the crossroads of possibility. The very fact the story is told with the easy grace of William Trevor, a magnificent Joycean myth-making, and the heartbeat catalog of Seamus Heaney - is a testament to Connaughton's love affair with language. The whip-cream bonus of humour keeps us wanting more.
When Guard Dempsey dares to tease a pretentious priest wishing to be addressed as Doctor, with an invitation to tend to his poorly toe, I laughed out loud to an empty room. And when the family debates the rumoured extent of Nora Gaffney's alleged deformity, and Mammy declares she's not a camel, it's not just very funny, but comments without preaching about the power of disinformation and the need for truth. I will carry with me always the glimpsed moment of roadside cattle on land so tilted it seemed they might slide off to one side.
Thank you, Shane Connaughton for having the skill, courage, and generosity to share yourself with us.
Make no mistake, Connaughton is a great writer and this is a book of deep satisfaction. The episodes that plot the social and cultural sweep of the post-war journey to a modern era parallel the development of a boy to a young man at the crossroads of possibility. The very fact the story is told with the easy grace of William Trevor, a magnificent Joycean myth-making, and the heartbeat catalog of Seamus Heaney - is a testament to Connaughton's love affair with language. The whip-cream bonus of humour keeps us wanting more.
When Guard Dempsey dares to tease a pretentious priest wishing to be addressed as Doctor, with an invitation to tend to his poorly toe, I laughed out loud to an empty room. And when the family debates the rumoured extent of Nora Gaffney's alleged deformity, and Mammy declares she's not a camel, it's not just very funny, but comments without preaching about the power of disinformation and the need for truth. I will carry with me always the glimpsed moment of roadside cattle on land so tilted it seemed they might slide off to one side.
Thank you, Shane Connaughton for having the skill, courage, and generosity to share yourself with us.
December 16, 2019
This book is a sequel to his earlier autobiographical novel, A BORDER STATION, as he tells of Danny's return from boarding school to live with his parents for awhile in their married quarters in the Irish border village of Butlershill. His father works as a "garda" in this remote spot. Several other younger men are assigned to work with him. The book consists of stories built around seven of these men and their hard luck stories in this border area. The story is told through Danny's eyes, a somewhat impertinent teenager. The character studies of his family, these recruits and the local residents makes for a good story. The previous book was written twenty years earlier and cover Danny's life as a very young child. Both are good books.
May 1, 2017
I've no hesitation in giving this book five stars. It is a brilliant evocation of rural life in 1950s Ireland. A sequel to his previous best-seller, A Border Station, it tells the story of the narrator's father, the local police sergeant in a small village on the southern side of the border with Northern Ireland. It is, essentially, a series of short stories, each focusing on one of the local gardaí, together tracing the paths to retirement of the sergeant and to adulthood of his son. It is moving, funny and altogether memorable.
Displaying 1 - 7 of 7 reviews